Life stories initiative in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya: Empowerment of women is one of the objectives of the Punya Foundation. Giving continuity to its women empowerment programs, in 2013 the Foundation has in collaboration with the Kanere News started empowerment of rape victims and victims of other forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) through development of life skills. Background: In the Kakuma refugee camps, violence against women in the form of sexual assaults including rape occurs very frequently. However, due the lower socioeconomic status and lack of protective mechanisms in the refugee camps, women rarely report these atrocities. Even if a woman dares to report a case of abuse, most of the time, owing to the complex legal procedures she gets exposed to their community leading to stigmatization and isolation. The incidents of abuses therefore remain unreported and women suffer silently. Realizing this, the Foundation in collaboration with the Kenare Free news is organizing a women empowerment program targeting the victims of gender-based violence, including rape. Program description: The planned project involves women victims of rape and those others who are at risk. The activity will be directed to sexually abused women of mixed age from mixed nationalities in a secure and pace of their confidence. The project runs in two phases. In the first phase, the victims tell their life stories in small groups about the abuses they encountered. They share their sufferings. Following the sharing sessions, women brainstorm to identify locally available and context specific defence mechanisms. In the second phase of the project, the victims are guided to write their stories in their own words. Short term and long term outcomes of this project: 1. The expected outcome of this program is to identify and record the nature of violence occurring in the Kakuma refugee camps. 2. Through the fieldwork, women who have suffered sexual assaults and those at risk will have a chance to meet staff of the Kanere News for information and defence. 3. The life skills training shall give the women victim of sexual abuse an opportunity to air their views and to ventilate their sufferings through story telling/writing. 4. The empowerment program shall build confidence in victims to speak up for themselves, than only other humanitarian organisations speaking on their behave. Correspondence: Punya Foundation 80 Diment Road Salisbury North, 5108 South Australia Email: info@punyafoundation.org For further information: https://www.punyafoundation.org